


i will wait for you (if you want me to)

by killuamaim



Category: Camp Buddy (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, Gay, Kissing, M/M, Nervousness, Possessive Behavior, bottom!keitaro, but it's hot af, fear of failure, i don't know this kinda just came into my brain, inspired by visions by grimes, keitaro and taiga are stupidly in love, taiga is extremely possessive, top!Taiga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:08:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killuamaim/pseuds/killuamaim
Summary: Keitaro and Taiga are in their senior year of high school and they have major decisions to make. However, Keitaro's life is momentarily derailed as he doesn't receive the news he was hoping for...(titles will be kinda inspired by lyrics from each song off of grimes' 2012 album visions)
Relationships: Hiro Akiba/Yoichi Yukimura, Keitaro Nagame/Taiga Akatora, Natsumi Hamasaki/Hunter Springfield
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	1. Infinite Love Without Fulfilment

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Welcome to this fic I kinda just whipped up in my head?  
> I had the lyrics from Infinite Love Without Fulfilment on repeat the other day and it turned into this storyboard of Keitaro and Taiga on their way to college and idrk what this is but enjoy?  
> I promise it will get steamier eventually, but for now enjoy Chapter 1!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I will wait for you, if you want me to..."

*******************************************************************

Today was decision day.

All of the Kaichi High School seniors were buzzing with anticipation, waiting to hear whether or not they’ve been accepted to the universities that they’ve applied to.

Keitaro Nagame was situated in his Modern Japanese class, twiddling his thumbs impatiently as a tactic of trying not to pull out his phone and check his email. He could, but class started in 2 minutes and he didn’t want to risk getting yelled at by a teacher, so he decided against it. Checking for the 347th time wouldn’t make an email magically appear anyway. He’s been anxiously awaiting to hear from Hokkaido University, which just so happened to be his dream school. He was a nervous wreck, and he has been all week. Hokkaido was a big deal to him. It was what he’s been working at since he started school and understood what university was all about. Not to mention, it was also the school his boyfriend was wishing to go to as well.

“Nagame!” Keitaro turned his head at the sound of his last name, “have you heard yet?”

“Oh, hey Hiro. Not yet,” Keitaro looked at his best friend, exhaling a sigh of defeat. 

“Don’t sweat it, dude! You’re definitely gonna get in!” Hiro swung an arm around Keitaro’s shoulder in an attempt to ease tension. It helped a little, but not enough.

“How about you? Have you heard anything yet?” Keitaro asked Hiro quizzically.

“Me neither! Let me check again!” Hiro whipped his phone out of his pocket and quickly went to his Internet application, plugging in his username and password, sticking his tongue out in concentration. Hiro himself had been waiting to hear from Le Cordon Bleu, which was the top culinary school in Tokyo. Keitaro was upset that he wouldn’t be in the same school as Hiro again, but this was his best friend’s dream, so there was no way he should pass it up.

“Holy shit! I did it! I got in!” Hiro jumped out of his seat.

“Congrats Hiro! That’s so exciting!” Keitaro gave his friend an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

Suddenly, the bell rang, and the rest of the students scrambled into the classroom so they wouldn’t be marked absent.

“Okay class, take your seats and put your phones away! For the next 55 minutes, we will be focusing on haikus instead of university decisions. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” the class groaned audibly.

*******************************************************************

The hallways were crowded with half the student body trying to make it to the cafeteria for B Lunch. Conversation remained revolved around admissions letters. Some were very loud and exciting, others were quiet and depressing. People were talking about who got into what school.

“I heard Hokkaido probably won’t release until the end of the day,” Keitaro overheard a girl next to him say. He immediately perked up.

“Really? The end of the day?” Keitaro swiftly turned to her.

“Y-yeah…” She said, clearly startled.

Keitaro let out a frustrated noise and continued on his way to lunch. 

********************************************************************

After grabbing his bento box, he scanned the cafeteria in search of his friends and boyfriend. He easily spotted Taiga’s flaming red hair and made his way over to their table.

“Hey, guys!” He said, sitting down right next to his boyfriend. 

“Hey, cutes,” Taiga pulled Keitaro into his lap and put his hand on his hip. He pressed a kiss on the side of his neck and smiled smugly to himself.

“Yuck, can you two get a room or something?” Hiro gave them a disgusted look as he dug into his sashimi.

“Would if I could, Akiba, but for now you can enjoy the show” Taiga sent Hiro a wink and pressed yet another kiss to Keitaro’s neck, lingering a little longer this time.

“I think I’m actually gonna puke,” Hiro rolled his eyes.

“Aww, c’mon Hiro, you’re just saying that ‘cuz Yoichi hasn’t asked you out yet!” Keitaro laughed.

“As if I want to date that Wolfboy! I have standards y’know!” Hiro pointed his chopsticks at the happy couple.

“I heard Wolfboy.” Yoichi slammed his box down right next to Hiro’s.

“Of COURSE you show up right now!”

“Yoichi, aren’t you gonna ask Hiro out?” Keitaro asked the larger man.

“Maybe if he wasn’t such a Torch-head,” Yoichi shoveled rice into his mouth.

“And what is THAT supposed to mean?” Hiro gave Yoichi an accusatory glare.

“Exactly.”

“You guys bicker like a married couple already!” Taiga chuckled and rested his hand under Keitaro’s shirt. Keitaro gave a little shiver and Taiga’s smile widened.

“Did you guys hear from Hokkaido yet?” Hiro asked.

“Not yet. I heard decisions won’t come out until the end of the day.” Keitaro sighed. 

“Well, I got into cooking school!” Hiro fist-pumped the air.

“Aye, congrats man!” Taiga said.

“‘Atta boy, Torch-head!” Yoichi gave Hiro a slap on the back.

“That’s fantastic Hiro! I’m so happy for you!” Natsumi said as he and Hunter sat down. 

“Thanks, guys! Have you heard from where you want to go yet?” Hiro looked around at the group.

“I got into Kyoto this morning!” Natsumi flashed a bright smile to the rest of his friends.

“Damn dude! That’s amazing! Way to go!” Hiro gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder.

Hunter didn’t say anything, which wasn’t super unusual. He was probably going back to the United States for school since that’s where he’s from, so school is a touchy subject for him. Keitaro and the rest of the group respected that.

Keitaro sighed, once again pulling out his phone to see if there were any possible updates. As expected, there wasn’t a single notification on his phone. Only an earlier text from his mom, telling him that there was no doubt in her mind that he was gonna get in. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ about, dweeb?” Keitaro’s focus darted from his phone to his boyfriend.

“Nothing much, I’m just nervous about Hokkaido,” Keitaro said glumly.

“Babe, I have no doubt in my mind that you’re gonna get in. You’re smart, you’re talented, you’re extremely hard-working. Why wouldn’t they take you?” Taiga patted his thigh reassuringly.

“Thanks, Taiga,” Keitaro offered him a half-smile and a nose peck before shifting his attention back onto his friends. Hiro and Yoichi were going at it about god knows what, probably who can spit farther than the other, while Hunter and Natsumi were nose-deep into their books. They hadn’t seen their other friends all day, mainly because they all had A Lunch which was earlier in the day. He wondered if they all got into their respective universities. 

He sure hoped so.

*********************************************************

Finally, the bell rang signaling the end of the day. Keitaro packed his bag and switched his school shoes for his going out shoes and laced them up before meeting Taiga at the cherry blossom tree. He held onto his backpack straps and walked out into the fresh springtime breeze. Monsoon season was upon them, so he wanted to soak in as much sun as possible before the week-long rains hit them.

“Hey, cutes,” Taiga snuck up behind Keitaro and wrapped his around his middle.

“Hehe, hi Taiga~” Keitaro looked behind him and gave Taiga a peck on the cheek.

Suddenly both his and Taiga’s phone went off. Releasing himself from Taiga’s grasp, he took his phone out of his pocket and turned it on.

“It’s from the Hokkaido Admissions Office!” Keitaro gasped.

His future was about to be determined with this one email.

“Let’s open them together,” Taiga rubbed Keitaro’s arm lovingly and opened the notification, while his boyfriend did the same.

Keitaro signed into the portal and opened the official decision letter.

“Sweet! I got in!” Taiga exclaimed, bearing that gorgeous smile of his. “You too, cutes?” He turned to see his brown-haired boyfriend with his mouth wide open and a look of shock on his face.

“I got rejected…”

***********************************************************

Hokkaido University Admissions Office  
Kita 8 Jonishi 5-Chōme  
Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido  
Japan 060-0808

Dear Mr. Nagame,

The Hokkaido University Board of Admissions has reviewed your application. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer you admission into the university for the Fall 2021 Semester.  
We receive thousands of qualified applicants every semester, yet we only have room to hold so many. At this time, it was a tough decision to make. 

Please do consider reapplying in the future, as we would love to have you be a student here at Hokkaido University. Continue furthering your education and continue to keep Hokkaido in your future.

Best regards,  
Yokota Atsushi  
Vice President of Hokkaido University Admissions


	2. Genesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Home and I know
> 
> Playing the deck above
> 
> It's always different
> 
> I'm the one in love"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter's a bit shorter, but here you go! And YES it gets steamy so enjoyyyyyy

“Rejected? That doesn’t make any sense!” Taiga grabbed the phone out of Keitaro’s hand and looked at it himself. He thought that maybe the brown-haired boy was playing a prank on him, but then he saw with his own eyes.

“Yep. Rejected. What the fuck?!?” Taiga’s anger level began to rise. He could feel himself reverting back to his younger, angrier self. Chill out, Taiga. Take a deep breath. 

He looked to his side to see his boyfriend’s eyes welling up with tears.

“Aw, babe, come here,” He pulled Keitaro into a deep embrace as the latter began to violently sob into the former’s arms.

“I worked so hard! I just don’t get it!” Keitaro continued his breakdown.

“I know, I know. Let’s get you home, cutes, we’ll figure this out,”

*******************************************************

“I don’t understand any of this!” Keitaro’s mother was outraged. “You’re far more studious than your sister and she got into Hokkaido no problem! Wait, don’t tell her I said that,” She was pacing around the living room with her hand on her chin in thought. “Oh, Taiga honey, congratulations by the way,” She went up to Taiga and gave him a congratulatory rub on the back.

“Thanks, Mrs. Nagame,” Taiga offered Keitaro’s mother a forced smile and a bow of the head. It felt wrong to be happy for himself in this moment, not when his boyfriend just got some crushing news, and especially since he got in and Keitaro didn’t.

“Let me see your official letter, honey,” Mrs. Nagame held her hand out in order for Keitaro to give her his phone. He handed it to her meekly, silent tears still rolling down his cheeks.

“Do either of you know the phone number for the admissions office off the top of your head?” She looked at both boys with a questioning gaze.

“It should be at the bottom of the letter, mom,” Keitaro offered.

Mrs. Nagame scrolled down to the bottom of the letter and found the phone number for the admissions office. Pulling out her own phone, she typed in the number and pressed the call button, giving Keitaro his phone back and excusing herself into her office. She shut the double doors and turned on her customer service voice. 

“You’ve got a kick-ass mom, look at her trying to fix this for you,” Taiga pulled Keitaro into yet another embrace. 

“I feel so bad,” Keitaro sniffled, “She shouldn’t have to do this for me...”

“She’s just being a mom, she doesn’t want anything upsetting to happen to her kids,” Taiga stroked Keitaro’s hair.

“I just don’t understand why any of this happened!” Keitaro continued sobbing.

“It sucks, man, I know it does. People are assholes. But I know damn well that you deserve to go to the school of your dreams, and your mom and I and everyone else who cares about you is going to make that happen,’ Taiga continued to stroke Keitaro’s hair and gave him small pecks on the top of his head.

“You’re the best, Taiga,” Keitaro sniffled and looked up at his boyfriend.

“I know, dummy. What do you say I try to take your mind off of this by doing some things that you want to do?”

“Like a date?” Keitaro’s tears were gone in an instant and he had a really excited look on his face.

“Yes dummy, a date,” Taiga flashed Keitaro one of his signature smiles.

“I have to go get ready! We can’t go on a date in our school clothes!” Keitaro rushed upstairs to his room. Taiga chuckled, following behind.

*******************************************************

“None of your clothes fit me,” Taiga walked out of Keitaro’s closet, in a too-short t-shirt and jeans that barely fit around his waist.

“You look sexy in that crop top~” Keitaro giggled.

“Sexy, huh?” Taiga crossed his arms up over his head so that the shirt rode up a little bit more, exposing the rest of his literal 8-pack. How that boy had a diet of cheeseburgers and fries and still looked like that, Keitaro didn’t know, but he certainly wasn’t complaining. 

Keitaro looked up at Taiga and blushed a deep shade of red.

“T-Taiga…” Keitaro trailed off, literal stars in his eyes.

“What’ya thinkin’ about there, cutes?” Taiga raised his eyebrows and shot Keitaro a sideways smirk. He looked his boyfriend up and down, noticing a major bulge forming in his underwear.

“N-nothing,” Keitaro shifted and tried to hide his erection with his oversized t-shirt.

“You can’t fool me, babe,” Taiga continued to smirk, “why don’t we go take a shower?”

“But my mom’s downstairs…” Keitaro didn’t need his mom hearing the activities that were about to ensue.

“Then you’re gonna need to be quiet, aren’t you?” Taiga licked his lips, hoisted his boyfriend up by the armpits, and dragged him with him to the bathroom.

*******************************************************

Keitaro turned on the water, with no help from his boyfriend, who was flush behind him, naked, and kissing the shit out of his neck. He started to bite, and knowing those sharp incisors of his, those bites were bound to leave marks.

“T-Taiga, please, no marks,” Keitaro let out breathily.

“You know I can’t help it babe, it turns me on to see you all marked up,” Taiga licked one of the already-forming bruises.

“I-I know, but my mom…”

“Just wear a turtleneck tonight, and your school clothes cover it up anyway,” Taiga was both insistent and persistent, as he continued to attack Keitaro’s neck.

“Tai-mmmmmm…”

“You can’t fight it, babe, plus, I know you like them too,” Keitaro could hear the lust in Taiga’s voice.

“Fine, only because you’re right,” Keitaro managed to get them both under the running water facing the same way this time.

Taiga smiled and began making out with Keitaro. It got passionate quickly, both he and Keitaro quickly running out of breath, but each was the other’s oxygen, so how can you breathe without being able to breathe?

“Taiga, please…”

“Please what?”

“Let me… go down on you…” Keitaro was begging. This was one of the favorite ways that Taiga liked to see his boyfriend.

“Only because you’ve been so good thus far,” Taiga gave Keitaro one last kiss before gently pushing him down to his knees on the shower floor.

Keitaro was now eye level with Taiga’s length, which was such a pretty sight to see. Keitaro never got tired of it.

“Go on, cutes,” Taiga nudged him and Keitaro looked up while putting his dick in his mouth.

“Thaaaaaat’s it,” Taiga and Keitaro fell into an easy rhythm, with Taiga gently guiding Keitaro’s head down and back, not letting him come up for air. It wasn’t like Keitaro needed to breathe through his mouth anyway when his nose worked just find.

Keitaro began to deep throat Taiga’a dick, a feat that was easily one of Taiga’s favorites. He was having a hard time keeping his moans restrained, as he didn’t want to make Mrs. Nagame suspicious.

“I’m so close baby, keep doing that,” Taiga threw his head back in pleasure and Keitaro took that as a sign to use his mouth as a suction and continue until Taiga came.

At last, Taiga flooded Keitaro’s mouth with cum, Keitaro easily swallowing it down like it was water. He popped himself off of his boyfriend’s dick and wiped his mouth.

“You did so good for me,” Taiga hoisted his boyfriend up again and gave him appreciatory kisses. “Let me finish you off”

It didn’t take long for Keitaro to cum. With literally 3 strokes of Taiga’s hand, Keitaro came undone and painted the shower floor with his sperm. Both boys watched it go down the drain.

At this point, the water was starting to get cold so they both washed up rather quickly. Taiga, being the loving boyfriend that he is, offered to wash Keitaro’s backside. He got a little too carried away with Keitaro’s ass, in which Keitaro told him to ‘save it for later’, so at least he had something to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ASDOKAODFBWSBIC my brain was literally all over the place in this I feel like... next chap is the date!


	3. Oblivion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'll see you on a dark night"

*******************************************************

“Come on, slowpoke!” Keitaro was egging his boyfriend on so they could get their date night started. He hadn’t gone out in a while, it felt like. Between school, homework, and college applications, Keitaro felt like the only time he was able to have any social interaction was in school at lunch or during study groups for upcoming tests. Needless to say, Keitaro was desperate to do something that wasn’t school related.

“You know my hair is a process,” As macho and manly as Keitaro’s boyfriend was, Taiga was such a girl when it came to his hair. Now Keitaro didn’t mean this in a negative, stereotypical way. It was just funny to see this total bro be a complete primadonna when it came to something like his hair. Taiga could be wearing the sloppiest, most not put-together outfit, yet his hair would still look exquisite.

“I really hope you know I’m not dating you just because you have fantastic hair,” Keitaro rolled his eyes and tried to drag his boyfriend out of the bathroom. 

“I do have fantastic hair, but are you sure I look good in this outfit? I feel dweeb-y,” Keitaro managed to find some clothes that were too big on him, that happened to perfectly fit Taiga. He dressed him in a nice white short-sleeve button up and a pair of light wash jeans. Completed with Taiga’s shark-tooth necklace and his perfectly coiffed hair, he looked just like an edgy surfer boy straight out of a Western movie.

“Taiga, and I mean this in the most sincere, not-trying-to-get-in-your-pants-again way possible, you look sexy,” Keitaro patted his cheek and gave it a small peck.

“You’re not so bad yourself, cutes,” Keitaro was wearing a brown and green t-shirt and a pair of boot-cut jeans. His black boots were a little too punk for his image, but Taiga insisted that it made him look hot, so he took his boyfriend’s advice.

“Are you finally done?” Keitaro was itching to get out of his house.

“Relax, give me like 2 more minutes. Why don’t you call that Italian restaurant you like and get us a reservation for 6:30?” Taiga scooped some more molding clay out of the container and continued to run it through his fiery hair. The stuff Keitaro had in his bathroom was definitely not the luxury brand that he was used to, but it was better than nothing. Taiga hated when his hair fell flat. So, this drugstore clay was going to have to do.

“Ooh! Okay! Aw man, fettuccini alfredo sounds so good!” Keitaro shuffled back into his room, already dialing the number to the restaurant.

Taiga chuckled softly to himself and looked back in the mirror. He loved that dweeb so much.

*******************************************************

“Bye mom! Taiga and I are going out!” Keitaro was practically out the door before his mother could answer.

“Wait! Hold it!” Keitaro and Taiga froze on the porch and turned around to see Mrs. Nagame in the middle of a self-care routine; hair in curlers, homemade avocado and yogurt face mask all over her face, and her toes covered in pink nail polish with white foam spacers in between each toe so that the polish wouldn’t stick together.

“What?” Keitaro was exasperated. He just wanted to leave.

“Where are you going?”

“It’s a surprise!” Keitaro was like a little kid on Christmas, so excited to find out what Taiga had spontaneously planned for the evening.

“Alright, be safe. Taiga, I want him home no later than midnight, understood?” Mrs. Nagame crossed her arms.

“You got it, Mrs. Nagame,” Taiga flashed Keitaro’s mom a thumbs up.

“Oh, and Keitaro honey, we’ll talk about my conversation with Hokkaido in the morning, okay?”

“Y-yeah, sounds good mom,” Keitaro offered her a meek smile and a wave, and the boys were on their way.

*******************************************************

The first stop was obviously the restaurant that Keitaro made reservations at. The outside of Mercutio’s was cute and charming, with outdoor string lights surrounding the patio seating. Considering it was early May, the breeze was warm and there were many couples sitting outside. Some were chatting over cocktails, others were feeding each other unique pasta dishes. Keitaro thought it was cute. Taiga was silently puking in his mouth. As much as he loved Keitaro and wanted to show him off every second of every day, he wasn’t the type of person to be all mushy and romantic. Well, he was romantic, but maybe not in the stereotypical way. He would never feed Keitaro like the couples in front of him on his own free will, but if it’s what Keitaro wanted, then so be it.

The two boys walked inside the restaurant and went up to the hostess podium, waiting to be seated.

“Hi there! Reservation?” A blonde girl, looking to be around the same age or maybe a bit older as the two boys, greeted them with an overly enthusiastic smile.

“Hi! Yes, I have a reservation for two under Nagame,” Keitaro eagerly said to the hostess.

“Nagame, Nagame… ah! Here it is! Right this way, gentlemen,” The hostess grabbed two menus and led the way to a booth in the back of the restaurant with dim but ambient lighting. Very romantic, Taiga thought to himself.

“Here you are! I’ll be right back with some water,” the hostess bowed her head and went off in the direction of the kitchen. Keitaro and Taiga sat down and opened their menus.

“Why are you looking at the menu when you already know what you want?” Taiga laughed.

“I don’t know, I feel weird NOT looking at the menu at a restaurant, y’know?” Keitaro’s eyes scanned the specials of the week to see if anything else sounded better, but his heart was set on fettuccini alfredo with chicken. It’s what he’s been getting at Mercutio’s ever since he could talk.

“Do they have a burger?” Taiga flipped open his own menu and took a look at his options. 

“I’m sure they do,” Keitaro chuckled softly to himself.

The hostess came back with their water and ended up taking their orders, since both boys were very hungry. They kept the dinner conversation light and airy, avoiding the topic of school, especially university. Just thinking about it made Keitaro upset and Taiga guilty.

“I have the chicken fettuccini?” A waitress with sleek black hair came out holding their dinners. Keitaro raised his hand and the waitress set down the enormous dish in front of him. The waitress then presumed that Taiga was the one who ordered the burger and set it down in front of him. Both boys thanked the waitress and got to work on their meals.

“You can really eat that whole thing?” Taiga gawked at the size of Keitaro’s dinner. Keitaro was by no means fat. He was stick thin and ate like a bird at lunch, so Taiga was surprised to see him going to town on this giant bowl of rich pasta.

“Yep! Every single time!” Keitaro sucked up a noodle and continued eating his favorite dish in the world.

“Your metabolism must be crazy fast,” Taiga was extremely fascinated by this.

“I guess so, I don’t really work out but I don’t eat like this all the time! Only on special occasions,” Keitaro was already halfway done while Taiga had barely made a dent in his burger.

He shook his head and took another bite.

*******************************************************

“Do we want dessert this evening?” The waitress came back to clear the plates.

“I don’t think I could eat another bite of anything, even if I wanted to,” Keitaro patted his stomach and let out a long exhale.

“Just the check would be great,” Taiga looked up at the waitress and flashed her a smile.

“Are we on one check or separate?” 

“One check,” Taiga pulled out his wallet, “my treat,”

“No fair!” Keitaro crossed his arms and gave Taiga a fake pout.

Taiga handed the waitress his debit card and she ran it and brought it back out to him with a receipt, which had her number and a winky face on it saying “call me,”. Taiga internally cringed.

“What?” Keitaro was curious.

“That waitress wrote her number on the receipt saying to call her,”

“Still killing it with the ladies, I see,” Keitaro jokingly nudged Taiga’s side.

“Why would I want a lady when I have all I want right here?” Keitaro and Taiga walked outside the restaurant and held each other’s hands.

“You’re sweet, thank you, I really needed this,” Keitaro looked up at his boyfriend lovingly.

“The night’s just getting started, babe,”

*******************************************************

“The arcade?!?!?” Keitaro squealed. He loved the arcade.

“Of course, the arcade. It’s one of your favorite places!” Taiga said knowingly.

“Eek! Thanks Taiga!” Keitaro squeezed him tightly and moved their bodies from left to right.

“Careful, dweeb, I don’t want to explode,” Taiga tried to pry himself out of Keitaro’s grip. 

“Oh, right. Sorry,” Keitaro unhinged himself and smiled sheepishly up at his boyfriend.

“It’s cool, now let me kick your ass at some of these games,” Taiga gave Keitaro a smirk and cracked his knuckles in preparation. 

“You’re so on!” Keitaro put on his game face and both boys raced to the multiplayer games at the back of the arcade.

*******************************************************

Taiga won most of them, obviously. His competitive nature got the better of him and he ended up beating Keitaro at a lot of games. Keitaro was still pretending to be mad at him.

“C’mon, I said I was sorry!” Taiga was now walking Keitaro home, trying to hold his hand. It was already 11:30 and Taiga did not want to face the wrath of Mrs. Nagame if he got Keitaro home too late.

“Nope. Not gonna happen,” Keitaro turned his face away and crossed his arms.

“What can I do to make it up to you?” 

“Give me a kiss when we get home and maybe I’ll think about forgiving you,” Keitaro bargained.

“Deal.”

*******************************************************

Keitaro and Taiga approached Keitaro’s front door. It was 11:56. Perfect timing, Taiga thought. The boys decided to take the scenic route home, walking through Nakajima Park along the Toyohira riverwalk. They gazed at the twinkling lights of Sapporo and just enjoyed each other’s company.

“Can I give you that forgiving kiss now?” Taiga pleaded.

“Of course, silly,” Keitaro gave Taiga a genuine smile and got on his tiptoes to kiss his boyfriend. Nothing felt more right than this.

When they parted after about a minute, they put their foreheads together and smiled at each other. Right now, it was just the two of them. Nothing could take away this moment. Right now, they weren’t worried about college or their impending distanced relationship that Keitaro feared was upon them. Right now, it was just the two of them against the world.

“Goodnight, Taiga,”

“Goodnight, dummy,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loved writing this chapter, Keitaro and Taiga are just so cute and I will never get over them.
> 
> I know that the title of this chapter is "Oblivion", which is a heart-wrenching song about a personal experience that Grimes had gone through, but obviously, the content of this chapter does not fit with the message of this song. (TW) Although empowering, the song is based on themes of sexual assault and how Grimes dealt with it.
> 
> If you haven't had the chance, listen to it. It's a beautifully produced, raw piece of music. It's arguably one of my favorite songs of all time. 
> 
> Also, the setting of this story is pre-COVID so there are no masks or social distancing or anything like that.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	4. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It's always something
> 
> It's always something
> 
> I know you're running and we know
> 
> I feel my heartbeat
> 
> You tell me nothing
> 
> You tell me nothing in this town"

*******************************************************

Keitaro sat glumly in his room, twirling a pencil around in his right hand. He had finished half of his homework and was quickly running out of steam. There were only so many derivatives he could find before he truly went insane. I mean, how was calculus going to help him become a professional photographer? Sure, it was important for schools to allow kids to explore all mediums before figuring out EXACTLY what they wanted to do, but if Keitaro already knew, why did he have to keep taking it? It seemed like a waste of time at this point.

He wasn’t feeling super enthusiastic about school anyway, especially not after the conversation he had with his mom when he got home from his date last night.

…

_“Hi honey, how was the date? I see Taiga dropped you off right on time,” Mrs. Nagame chuckled with a knowing smile._

_“It was so fun mom! Taiga took me to Mercutio’s, and then we played at the arcade, and then we walked home through the park on the riverwalk! I honestly needed something to distract me after the whirlwind of emotion I had to deal with today,” Keitaro spoke animatedly, using his hands and flapping his body in a way that Mrs. Nagame could feel the after effects of the date, too._

_“That sounds nice, dear,” Mrs. Nagame poured herself and her son a cup of tea, then handed a cup to Keitaro._

_“Oh, what did Hokkaido say?” Keitaro graciously took a cup, lightly sipping on its’ contents._

_Mrs. Nagame sighed, “Well, after some long and draining conversations with a few members of the admissions board, I got some answers. Not a lot of answers, but some. It seems as though your portfolio, although stunning, was slimmer compared to other applicants for the major. Also, your grades may meet the Hokkaido admission requirements, but they look past the grades and onto things like community service, extracurricular, et cetera…”_

_“But I have community service! I basically helped rebrand Camp Buddy!” Keitaro argued._

_“I know you did honey, and I told them that, but there’s really not much more I can do. Since this is university, a parent’s word doesn’t have much footing. Schools like this want you to learn how to be an adult and take matters into your own hands,” Mrs. Nagame advised._

_Now it was Keitaro’s turn to sigh, “You’re right mom, sorry for yelling. Did they give you any suggestions onto what I should do?”_

_“They didn’t, but you’re a smart boy, I’m sure you can figure something out,” Mrs. Nagame ruffled Keitaro’s hair, “I’m gonna head to bed, you should too,” She gave Keitaro a kiss on the cheek and sauntered off in the direction of her bedroom, teacup in hand._

_Keitaro sighed again. Take matters into his own hands, what does that mean? He doesn’t know the first thing about handling situations like this, which sounds super privileged he realizes. But there has truly never been an instance where Keitaro was put in a professional sticky situation. Sure, he’s been in uncomfortable scenarios with his friends and can handle those pretty easily, but how do you handle an uncomfortable scenario with a respectable adult? Someone who works in a college admissions office, at that?_

_He picked up his tea, defeatedly finished the contents, and went up_ _to bed to sleep for the next seven years._

…

Keitaro snapped out of his flashback and turned his attention back to the math problems in front of him. He mindlessly scribbled his work on the paper, finishing up the worksheet and filing it back into his binder. While putting the binder back in his bag, he spotted his photography portfolio and decided to pull it out.

A lot of his pictures were of Camp Buddy, bringing him back to a time where he didn’t have to stress about school or university or anything of the sort. There were a lot of beautiful nature shots, and some photos of his friends that he used as models. He thought the images turned out pretty well, and they looked pretty professional in his opinion. He wondered what the other applicants’ photos looked like. Were they filled with shots of the city skyline? Professional models? Extreme hi-def photos? What was the secret formula to the perfect portfolio?

He thought he had an artsy eye. He thought these photos would be a shoo-in for Hokkaido. But here he was, rejected from his dream school and utterly crushed. How was he going to fix this?

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He could ask his boyfriend for help!

He texted Taiga asking him to come over, and got a response within 2 minutes

_14:53_   
_k: hey taiga, can you come over??? i need ur help with something :((((_

_14:55_   
_t: Of course, I’m on my way, see you soon ;)_

*******************************************************

“Thank god you’re here!” Keitaro let Taiga in and led him upstairs into his room.

“Of course, what do you need help with?” Taiga looked at his boyfriend questioningly.

“I need ideas on how to convince the Hokkaido admissions board that I belong to go to school there!” Keitaro began scrambling around his room, splaying out multiple photos onto his desk and rummaging through drawers and bins to look for more.

“What do you mean?” Taiga was honestly thrown off. He was expecting Keitaro to need help on homework or assistance in shaving some part of his body, because that’s what boyfriends are for. But this feels like cheating, and especially since he’s had first-hand experience with the wrath of others who suspected him of cheating, he isn’t sure if he wants to play this game.

“There was obviously something that my application was missing! I need your help looking to see what would make me stand out more as a photographer. I’m gonna try to repeal my decision!” Taiga had never seen Keitaro like this. He honestly looks like some mad scientist who came up with some crazy experiment.

“I don’t know if this is such a good idea…” Taiga was hesitant. He wanted Keitaro to be happy of course, but he felt dirty. If Keitaro didn’t get in on his own merits, did he honestly deserve to go at all? Taiga felt horrible thinking that, but it didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

“Why not? They obviously made a mistake about me! I just have to show them that I deserve to go there!” Keitaro continued his mad dash around his room.

“Didn’t you get into other schools?” Taiga asked him. That’s a good way to start: weighing out the other options.

“Yeah, I got into Musashino and Tokyo University of the Arts, but…”

“But what? Those are great art schools! You got into Tokyo Art? Why didn’t you tell me?” Taiga was stunned. Those were two of the most prestigious art schools in all of Japan. Why wasn’t Keitaro picking either of those?

“Those schools don’t matter! It’s either Hokkaido or nothing!” Keitaro was persistent and honestly on the verge of tears.

“Babe, I know you want Hokkaido so bad, but those are prestigious art schools. You’d be stupid not to take those opportunities-“ Taiga quickly shut his mouth. Did he just call his boyfriend stupid?

Apparently he did.

Keitaro looked at Taiga, eyes bulging and mouth wide open.

“Did you just call me stupid?” Keitaro asked, venom laced in his words.

“No, baby, not like that-“

“You think I’m stupid! You think the reason I didn’t get into Hokkaido was because I’m stupid! I know you’re smarter than me, but I didn’t think you thought so low of me!”

“Keitaro, that’s not-“

“Oh, so the great Taiga Akatora gets into Hokkaido University no problem, but just because I don’t have as good of grades as you means I can’t go?”

“Keitaro-“

“You really think you’re so much better than me? Huh?” Keitaro was pushing Taiga over the edge.

“Keitaro! Stop! You’re completely twisting my words and coming up with these crazy narratives! I’m not saying any of those things!” Taiga was angry now. Was Keitaro holding that all back? “Clearly, me getting in and you getting rejected is some sort of issue for you!”

“Of course it’s an issue!” Keitaro was screaming now. Thank god his mom was at the store. “Why did you get in but not me?”

“I don’t know! That’s just the way the world works sometimes!” Taiga was breathing heavily. When did the conversation turn into this argument? Where was all this rage coming from?

Taiga took a deep breath, “Look, I’m sorry that you got rejected from Hokkaido, but you got accepted into so many other places! Why don’t any of these sound appealing to you?”

“Because it’s not what I want!” Keitaro stomped his foot. He was acting like a five-year-old whose mom said ‘no’ when he asked for a new toy.

“Well you can’t get what you want all the time!” Taiga exclaimed.

The sound of Taiga’s voice resonated in the silence of Keitaro’s room.

They were just staring at each other now.

“I’m sorry I asked you for help,” Keitaro muttered, eyes welling up with tears.

“Keitaro…” Taiga looked defeated. He didn’t mean to blow up at Keitaro. He tried to reach out for his boyfriend but was met immediately with a slap to the wrist.

“Don’t!”

Taiga stepped back.

“You should go,” Keitaro said, looking at the ground, shifting from one foot to the other. He was clearly upset at this underlying issue that Taiga didn’t realize was an issue.

“But-“ Taiga started.

“Go! If you won’t help me, go!” Keitaro looked directly at Taiga, crying now, face red with hurt and anger.

Taiga reached out his hand again but retracted it back to his side.

“I’ll call you later,” Taiga said before exiting Keitaro’s room and, ultimately, the Nagame residence.

Keitaro flopped down on his bed and started sobbing again.

He had lost.

*******************************************************

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very angsty and rage-filled chapter!
> 
> I honestly write these chapters as I go, so sometimes they go in directions I wasn't expecting them to go in.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


	5. Circumambient

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Oh baby, I can't say
> 
> That everything is okay
> 
> 'Cuz I have a problem
> 
> And I don't know how to solve them"

*******************************************************

The sun peeked through the blinds in Keitaro’s room, but he pulled his duvet over his head to block out the natural lighting. He wanted to stay in the dark depression pit he made in his bed. You know how some people say vitamin D might make you feel better? Well, it was making Keitaro feel worse. The sun was too happy at this moment.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning, trying to will himself to go back to sleep, Keitaro frustratedly threw the covers off of his body with a grumpy expression on his face. He rolled over onto his side and grabbed his phone off of his bedside table to check for notifications. There were, of course, 18 text messages and 5 missed calls from Taiga.

Yesterday’s fight had really taken a toll on Keitaro. He didn’t realize he had that much built up anger inside of him. He was usually so passive when things didn’t exactly go as planned, not letting things like that rile him up. But apparently, he must’ve thought No more Mr. Nice Guy as he went off on Taiga.

Suddenly, he felt extremely guilty. Why exactly did he blow up yesterday? Was it because Taiga got into Hokkaido and he didn’t? Was he upset at the fact that Taiga was hesitant on helping him appeal to the admissions board? A combination of both? He didn’t know, and now he felt like the biggest asshole in the entire world.

Although the waves of guilt were now crashing over him like a tsunami, he was still wary of texting Taiga back. He wanted to give himself some time to cool off some steam before he reached out to his boyfriend again. Instead, he picked up his phone and reached out to his best friend.

_09:51_

_hey, i think i messed up big time. can we get some breakfast and talk about it?_

_09:52_

_Of course Keitaro! Let’s go to that pancake place you love so much, of course I’d love to help you!_

*******************************************************

Keitaro sat across from Hiro at a table for two in this rundown, old Western-styled diner. It was another one of Keitaro’s favorite restaurants from when he was a kid. The pancakes were just so good. A waitress came over and gave the two boys each a glass of water and a menu, smiling at them and telling them to let her know when they were ready to order.

“Thanks, miss!” Hiro shot the waitress his signature too-big grin as she made her way to another table.

“Alright, lay it all on me, Keitaro,” Hiro looked back at his brown-haired best friend and took a sip of his water.

Keitaro relayed the story to Hiro, from how he thought of a way to appeal to the admissions board and how he screamed at Taiga, making all of these accusations based on repressed anger and how he eventually kicked him out of his home. Hiro didn’t interrupt once, being the good listener that he is, and nodded along to Keitaro’s story and gave the appropriate facial expressions at the appropriate time.

“What do you think I should do?” Keitaro finally asked.

“Wow, that was a lot to digest, and I still haven’t even eaten yet,” Hiro flagged down the waitress and ordered him and Keitaro each a stack of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. Keitaro made a note that all of the people around him ate like crap, yet still maintained good looking bodies, himself included. What was the secret? Extremely fast metabolism? Keitaro didn’t even work out that much, he knew Hiro did occasionally and the gym was practically Taiga’s second home. _Focus, Keitaro. Now is not the time to be thinking about your boyfriend’s hot body._

“Earth to Keitaro?” Hiro waved a hand in front of Keitaro’s face.

Keitaro snapped out of his boyfriend-induced daze and noticed that there was now a humongous stack of pancakes in front of his face, “Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“That’s okay! The pancakes just got here! Let’s dig in!”

Keitaro and Hiro cut their pancakes and chewed in silence. It wasn’t awkward by any means, just the silence indicating that both parties had their mouths full and didn’t want to talk since that was kind of disgusting.

After settling their ravenous appetites with a few bites of their breakfast, Hiro set his fork and knife down and started to offer Keitaro some advice.

“So, the feelings that you have are totally valid. Like, I would definitely feel the same way you did if we applied to the same university and you got in and I didn’t, but to be honest with you, and it pains me to side with that fiery-haired freak, you kinda exploded on Dynamite himself without any warning really,” Hiro shrugged and went back to eating the fluffy pancake.

“You’re totally right, I had no idea I even felt that way,” Keitaro bit into his bacon, “I guess I was keeping that all bottled up, you know?”

“Totally, you’ve never really been the person to impulsively bitch someone out, but I guess we all do things we don’t know we have within ourselves,”

“Look at you being all smart and stuff, Hiro!” Keitaro offered a weak laugh.

“What can I say? I’m the master of advice,” Hiro grinned smugly and took in the last bite of his breakfast.

“Do you think I should apologize? How should I do it?” This time it was Keitaro who flagged the waitress down, asking for the check.

“I mean, you are kinda in the wrong here,” Hiro said, “so I definitely would apologize to him. Knowing him, he’s probably freaking out and thinking you’re gonna hate him forever,”

“I would never! You know I’m one of the most forgiving people ever!” Keitaro suddenly got worried and pictured his boyfriend pacing around his room, almost in tears.

“I know! Taiga’s probably worried sick! Have you talked to him since the fight?”

“No, but he’s texted me and called me a bunch. I haven’t answered him yet,” Keitaro shrugged meekly.

“I mean, take your time and all, but Taiga’s probably throwing himself into a pit of despair, so you might wanna take your time a little faster,” Hiro said.

“You’re probably right,”

*******************************************************

After arguing about paying the bill, Keitaro eventually put it on his debit card and refused any cash offerings from Hiro. His reasoning was, “I asked you to come, so I’m buying you breakfast.”

“That’s not fair!” Hiro wailed jokingly.

Hiro and Keitaro parted ways after exiting the restaurant, Keitaro promising to keep Hiro updated on the situation.

That breakfast with Hiro really opened Keitaro’s eyes at how childish he was acting yesterday. The guilt was continuing to pile up. Keitaro had never acted like that in his life, not even when he was an actual child. He’d always been complacent, patient and understanding with every interaction he’s ever had.

He decided it was time to man up and call his boyfriend back.

He dialed the redhead’s number and held the phone up to his ear as he made his way home in the early May mid-morning weather.

It rang twice before Taiga picked up, _“Keitaro? Oh, thank God! I was starting to worry,”_

“Hi Taiga, sorry for making you worry,” Keitaro said glumly. Hearing his boyfriend’s worried voice made him feel even worse.

_“Are you still mad at me? I’m really sorry about our fight yesterday,”_ This Taiga was a huge step-up from the Taiga he knew before. The previous Taiga had been an asshole and didn’t care if he hurt others, but after meeting Keitaro, he had completely 180’d his personality and finally made himself pleasant to be around. It was still weird for Keitaro to hear, even though they’ve been dating for almost a whole year.

“I’m sorry too Taiga, I had no idea I even felt that way. I’ve never ever blown up like that on anyone and I feel really bad that you were the victim in that attack,” Keitaro was silently crying now. The guilt finally broke him down.

_“It’s okay, dweeb, I’m not mad at you. I’m sorry for the things I said too; I guess I just don’t understand how you feel and I was trying to. Do you want to talk about it?”_

“Can you come over?” Keitaro said.

_“Of course, I’ll see you soon okay? Love you,”_

“Love you too,” Keitaro hung up the phone and continued his walk down the main street to his house.

*******************************************************

By the time Keitaro got to his front doorstep, Taiga was already there, sitting on the bench that the Nagame’s had on the front porch.

“Hey, man,” Taiga got up from the bench and pulled Keitaro into a crushing hug.

Keitaro continued his emotional meltdown as he wrapped his arms around Taiga’s middle and cried into his shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Keitaro said in between sobs and hiccups, “I feel really bad for yelling!”

“Hey, sshhhh, it’s okay, I’m not mad,” Taiga pet his smooth, brown hair, “Let’s go inside and talk about it, yeah?”

Keitaro pulled apart and sniffled, “Yeah,”

*******************************************************

The boys walked upstairs and entered Keitaro’s room, sitting on Keitaro’s full-sized bed.

“I’m sorry again for not taking your feelings into consideration,” Taiga offered again, “I was just trying to help explore your other options.”

“I know and I appreciate that,” Keitaro said, “It just sucks that I didn’t get into Hokkaido and we won’t be going to college together. I feel like our whole plan is ruined.”

“It’s not ruined,” Taiga softly stroked Keitaro’s arm, “We’re just gonna have to deal with the distance. It’s not undoable by any means. We’re just gonna have to work hard to keep this going.”

“I feel bad, I don’t want to make you do that for me,” Keitaro sniffled again.

“It’s not a big deal, we can still be together. We can see each other on weekends over break, it can totally work!” Taiga was starting to become extremely optimistic, which Keitaro loved about him.

“Still, I feel like I’m making you wait for me,”

“I will wait for you, if you want me to,” Taiga pulled Keitaro into an embrace. “We’re both hard-workers and can do anything we put our minds to. I want to be with you Keitaro, whether we’re 500 feet from each other or 500 miles from each other.”

“I love you,” Keitaro captured Taiga’s lips in an appreciative, emotional kiss. Taiga reciprocated immediately.

“I love you too, dork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn't notice, I love Keitaro and Taiga together so much.
> 
> Definitely a fluffier chapter, with lots of guilt and lots of tears, and Hiro actually being good at advice?
> 
> I hate writing about drama and fights and stuff but I know that's what keeps a story interesting. If it was 24/7 happy, cute stuff and sex, no one would be reading this.
> 
> I know I'm gonna have to come up with another piece of drama soon, but let me have this quick resolution, okay? Okay.
> 
> edit 2/27/2021: I’ve decided that I’m going to end the story here. It kind of turned into something out of my control and I don’t know how to control it at this point, hahaha. But, the end of this chapter leaves the story on a good note so I felt like it would be appropriate to end here? Sorry, I just don’t know what else I can add to the plot. Plus, I have a lot going on in my personal life right now that’s distracting me from finishing this. I’m sorry again!


End file.
